Page 6 of Cruel Vows

Setting the clipboard to the side, I walk down the line of pallets, counting them while Aiden fumes off to the side.

I don’t give a shit what happened to Ellie. She’s a nuisance who brought it on herself, like she always does.

“There’s a pallet missing.” My hands ball into fists as I head for the door that leads to my father’s office. “You’re going to have to find someone else to deal with your family drama, Aiden. I have more than enough of my own to deal with.”

I knock on the wooden door before pushing it open. “There’s an issue with the shipment.”

Dad’s bushy eyebrows climb high up his forehead, his frown deepening the lines around the corners of his mouth. “That’s impossible.”

“Each container should have had fifty pallets on it. The first container has been unloaded and there were only forty-eight pallets.”

Dad springs up from his chairs, hands curling at his sides. He throws the door of his office open as wide as it will go, a large bang sounding through the room. I glance at the wall and sure enough, he’s put the handle through the wall again.

I’ll have to call someone to patch that in the morning.

Dad walks up and down the lines of pallets, counting them twice before turning to me. “Check the other containers as they’re unloaded.”

I nod, grabbing the clipboard. There should be a hundred more pallets coming in tonight. “From the paperwork we have,the hundred and fifty pallets were loaded in Colombia as they should have been.”

Dad rips the clipboard from my hands, checking the invoice. “If you still have issues with inventory once everything has been unloaded, kill Drew. He was the one who sailed with the shipment to ensure it arrived and he will be the one to pay for any discrepancies.”

Aiden scowls as he steps into Dad’s path. “Malcolm, we need to talk about the Rinaldos.”

“I’m busy right now, Aiden.” Dad shoves the clipboard back to me. “And the Rinaldos haven’t been spotted in a couple years.”

“Ellie was attacked tonight.” Aiden raises his voice when Dad twists to return to his office. The words echo through the warehouse, bouncing off the metal walls and roof.

“And how is that my problem?” Dad crosses his arms as Aiden darts in front of him, stopping him from getting any farther.

I clench the clipboard until my knuckles are white. “I already told you that this wasn’t our issue to deal with, Aiden.”

Aiden ignores me, reducing me to nothing but another man in the room the way Dad has my entire life. “Malcolm, Noah Rinaldo is back. Rumors of his return have been spreading for weeks. The man who attacked Ellie said that he would slaughter my family.”

Dad glares at me. “Sean didn’t mention that.”

I toss the clipboard to the table. “That’s because it doesn’t matter.”

Dad’s eyes gleam and in that moment, it’s clear that he’s more interested in what Aiden has to say than what I do. “If Noah Rinaldo is truly back, then we do have a problem on our hands.”

Aiden nods. “I came here tonight to offer you a way to bring peace between our two families. We’ve got a common enemy and we have to deal with him before he gains too much power.”

“You make a good point.” Dad combs his fingers through the gray hair growing along his jaw. “But the water that runs between us is stained dark with blood. What’s preventing you from turning on my family the moment I agree to peace?”

I look between the two of them, my jaw dropping. “The two of you are seriously considering this?”

Dad glares at me. “Enough, Sean. This discussion is between me and Aiden. If you can’t hold your tongue, you’ll leave.”

My teeth grind together as I give a sharp nod and take a step back.

Even though Aiden is my closest friend and has been since we were young, our families have been feuding on and off for years. All has been quiet since I killed his father sixteen years ago, but this could be a ploy.

Aiden doesn’t spare me so much as a glance. “What do you want?”

“Our families would have to be connected. You have a few sisters. I have a son.”

I stare at the two of them as if they’ve each grown extra heads. There is no way that either of them are considering what Dad just suggested. Aiden loves his sisters too much to force one of them to spend their life with me.

Hell, I think he likes me too much to torture me like that.

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